SemiSentient
by PurpleCarrot
Summary: The Whomping Willow has claimed a victim at Hogwarts, and the Ministry wonders wheather the Willow is a non-sentient being or not.


_(The Whomping Willow's point of view)_

The wind is so cold...

Where I grew was warm. The warmth of sun and the warm water on my roots, the water from the kind men in the garden. Now it is cold, the rain is cold, too. It's all the Wolf-One's fault...Yes, he changed it all. Thanks to the Wolf-One, I was put here to hide his true wolf. Once in a moon, I felt him scraping at my roots, scarring the roots that bring me my life-blood.

Then there was that one moon... The Wolf-One, the Dog, the Buck's Child, Bush-Hair, and the Flame Head were all under my roots. There were two others. One reeked of magic, liquid magic. The other was the Rat that was often with the Wolf-One, the Dog, and the Buck during the moons of long ago. Once again, I felt the Wolf-One's claws, but this time on my unscarred bark. The Dog lead the Wolf-One away, but the scars still remain.

Even before that, the Flying Metal was an enjoyable toy. The Buck's Child and the Flame Head were kind enough to bring me the Flying Metal right from the sky, and I even played with Flame Head for a bit. I can even think of the Buck's Child and Flame Head as friends.

But not as good friends as White-Tip. He always wears green and silver, nice colors and shiny. White-Tip is coming now! With a new toy! He is kind, always laughing as I play, but the last thing he brought was a feline. She made nasty noises as I played. But it is not a feline this time, it is a two-legged like White Tip. Two-leggeds are the most fun. The two-legged was not moving, just floating along the air next to White-Tip. I hope she has enough energy to play. I grab her from the air and shake her. As she flies through my branches, White Tip doesn't stay and watch this time. He just throws back his head and laughs, then turning to walk away. I groan in thanks as I watch White-Tip walk off.

(Excerpt from The Daily Prophet for May 15th, 1996)

Hogsmeade-  
In a tragic turn of events near England's premier magical school, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, the Whomping Willow has taken the life of a student. The sixth-year student Mandy Brocklehurst was found bludgeoned to death on the Hogwarts grounds. Many Ministry officials are now calling for the execution of the Whomping Willow.

The tree was planted in 1971 to guard the location where the transformations or werewolf and then student Remus Lupin. Students and Hogsmeade residents were wary of the Willow's vicious branches that would whip dangerously from side to side, therefore they would not come upon Mr. Lupin's transformations on the night of the full moon. It reportedly attacked three students - Ronald Weesely, Hermione Granger, and the Boy-Who-Lived himself, Harry Potter - three years ago. Coincidentally, this was the year that Mr. Lupin had returned to Hogwarts to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. Also, it is reported to have something to do in the disappearance of a cat belonging to the caretaker of Hogwarts School. The tree has built up quite a murderous reputation over the years, but little to nothing has been done to curb the Willow's behavior until Ms. Brocklehurst's death.

Ms. Brocklehurst was found almost thirty meters from the Whomping Willow, suggesting that she had been shot put from the tree's branches. Mediwitches declared that her death had occurred before she hit the ground, dispelling the theory that Ms. Brocklehurst's death had been ultimately caused by her fall. After Ms. Brocklehurst did not come to classes for a full day, an uncommon occurrence for those in her house - Ravenclaw- as they are quite studious - a few of her housemates and friends began to search the grounds and castle. Lisa Turpin, a fellow Ravenclaw, was the first to come upon Ms. Brocklehurst's corpse, and others were alerted to where Ms. Turpin was by her panicked screams. Ms. Turpin, in tears on recalling her friend's death, described Ms. Brocklehurst as "caring b-bu-but shy... Mandy, s-she was very careful..." She went on to describe how Ms. Brocklehurst was a joyful person, yet wary of every situation and avoided dangerous situations. Her careful attitude and also the fact that she was born to muggle parents have lead many to believe that this was not an accident, nor suicide, but a pureblooded hate crime. Mediwitches who examined Ms. Brocklehurst noted curse marks that could not have been caused by the Whomping Willow, backing up the hate crime theory. No-one has been charged in accordance with this theory, but related rumors have been circulating the school

Due to this incident, the Ministry's Department for Magical Plant Life is reconsidering its classification of all Whomping Willows as non-sentient beings, therefore not able to think for themselves and not consciously capable of murder. The Ministry is currently struggling to reclassify the Willow as a semi-sentient being, capable of being executed for murder. If this reclassifiction occurs, it is very likely that the Hogwarts Willow will be chopped down and burned.

_(Excerpt from The Daily Prophet for May 23rd, 1996, 'Legal Notes' section)_

London-  
The Ministry of Magic has decided yesterday to reclassify the Whomping Willow from a non-sentient being to a semi-sentient being. This reclassification was considered when the Whomping Willow at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry caused the death of a student, Mandy Brocklehurst. Due to the reclassification, the Willow at Hogwarts will be chopped down for killing a human. The execution will occur tomorrow at midday.

_(The Whomping Willow's point of view)_

It is cold again. It is cold everyday.

Two-leggeds... Ones bigger than White-tip, coming towards me. They have the polished sticks that White-tip has with him. A shout and light shoots from the stick. Wha-What!

...A darkness comes and it's no longer cold. It's... it's very warm.

* * *

Authors Note (sorry the AN's so long!) : The Whomping Willow is one of my five favorite characters (Stop laughing!), and I always thought of him/it as a child-like being that didn't know when it killed things. 

And if you didn't get the names, here's a guide:

the Wolf-One - Remus Lupin (duh), the one who reeked of liquid magic - Snape, the Dog - Sirius (duh again), the Rat - Peter Petigrew, the Buck's Child - Harry (on the same thought, the Buck - James Potter), Bush-Hair - Hermione, the Flying Metal - the flying car that Ron and Harry drove into the Willow, Flame Head- Ron, White-tip - Draco Malfoy

And Ron's last name is spelled incorrectly on purpose in the first article.


End file.
